T-Series My '48 MG TC project

[Brinkerhoff]

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I last drove my TC August 11 , 2012 when I was in a bad accident with it. A young man coming toward me and late for work , turned left immediately in front of me at an intersection and I could only manage to not hit him head on ! Nobody was hurt . The TC wasn't so lucky ; I bounced off his right rear quarter panel , bending the entire front end sheet metal to the right , twisting the steering shafts and linkages, bending the springs and the frame extensions and pulverizing the valance ,badge bar, spot light. Even the gallant little engine stopped instantly , its fan blade tearing into the radiator !

I didn't touch the TC for months.

I started restoring it exactly one year ago . This is where I'm at today with the chassis.

Rather than find a replacement chassis frame , I opted to straighten this one using the factory dimensional diagram in the owner's manual and my skills and ingenuity. I pulled , pounded , heated , welded , and measured until I was unable to see or measure any deviation from straight or square.

Every part has been cleaned , inspected , replaced or restored to the best of my ability. The original Bishop steering box now fully rebuilt and fitted along with all new tie rods, ends, king pins, bearings, etc. works beautifully.

I've got all the bodywork finished on the tub and outer panels and am in the the finishing stages of primer work.



What's in your garage?


Kevin

 

[JPSmit]

Not getting the pics through yet. Don't know that I had heard about the accident before - were you OK?

 

[Brinkerhoff]

resized

 

[Brinkerhoff]

Small scratch on elbow. The TC can take a punch ! This shot is from a few years before the wreck. I'll try and huntdown one of the crash pictures.

 

[Flash_Harry]

Very nice work, Kevin

 

[JSabah]

You very rarely hear of T series in (major) accidents with other cars as most people are very cautious when they see such older cars on the road. Glad you fared well. My son has been driving my 50 TD for 3 years now (ages 16-19) because I figures he only goes about 45 tops, stays off the freeways, and gives himself plenty of room to stop. Your work looks great (I redid mine in 1979-80). Would love to see more pics including accident pics. Keep up the great work.

 

[JPSmit]

Pics are awesome - not just the quality but, it really is a whole different era illustrated. This is my garage:









and my daughter's projects:

 

[Brinkerhoff]

John-Peter , how do you load the big pictures in the reply? Kevin.

 

[JPSmit]

I use photobucket - so, I am not uploading pictures but just posting the link. In photobucket there is a "thumbnail" option - which I clearly don't use.

 

[Sarastro]

That's a lovely TC. Too bad it got whacked, but you seem to have fixed it well.

I think a website that chronicles the restoration would be great to see, and useful to the rest of us.

 

[aeronca65t]

Very glad you weren't hurt. That's the most important thing.

Your work looks great (although it's a pity that you had to do it).

Hopefully you were able to get some insurance compensation for all this work.

In the first photo, is my main (2 car) garage. I have the Super 7 (getting generally tidied up for Spring use.....I'll have it painted at some point), my #909 racing Spridget (when temps go up I intend to do a light refresh such as rings, bearings, valves, etc in an effort to address increased cylinder leak-down) and my MGB (to be cleaned up a bit in the Spring and probably sold).

In the background, banished from the garage due to lack of room is my '73 Midget, which runs fine but has an original, unreliable fuel pump that requires an occasional wallop (I have a new electronic one I'll fit when it gets warmer).
Also, my Miata, which never needs any attention.

In the second photo, is our second, one-car garage with my A35 racing project. Currently, it's back down on it's wheels and has a rebuilt 1275 installed. I'm building a header for it right now.